Late on a car payment? Beware. Delinquencies are rising, and im...

Tow truck drivers are the scum of the earth.

Tom wrote:

I lost huge sums of money when the stock market crashed in 2000

Sure you did.

Paul wrote:

Serves all you keep-up-with-the-Jones' types right, not to mention all the idiots who drive their Escalades into work solo. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Get back to work Paul, Someone's at the drive thru window. It might be me in my Escalade.

BIG DADDY wrote:

YEAH IT HAS TO **** WHEN THE JAG AND THE CADDIE GET TOWED LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS,THAT DOESNT INCLUDE THE $500,000 HOME COMPLETE WITH JAG AND CADDIE. IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT FINE IF NOT THE BANK IS COMING TO GET THERE STUFF..

Well and don't ya' think it is time for lenders to stop borrowing money to risky creditors. I mean come one - that is what started this whole housing dillema any way.

BUSH'S FAULT!

Tim-St.Paul, I think you need to relax a little bit. It's obvious that Mark was being sarcastic.

Kacy wrote:

It's so easy to judge. I wish the article had been more clear about how far behind these people are when they are getting repo'd. My first car loan was co-signed by a friend, and when I inadvertently missed a payment, my friend got a call (not me, they never bothered calling me at all - if they had, I would have realized that I had forgotten to pay it and paid it right there over the phone!), demanding payment or they would ruin his credit, repo the car, etc. This was 3 weeks late. On a 5 year loan, that was the only time I was ever late, and it simply was a mistake on my part. I wasn't not living within my means. I didn't not have the money. I just plain forgot. If they had just called me, I would have taken care of it. Instead they barge in shooting, scaring the crap out of everyone involved. It was really distasteful. Lenders are generally evil and almost never give people the benefit of the doubt. They should. Most people are inherently good and want to do right.

He was probably listed first on the loan document - that's why they called him.

Smart wrote:

Tow truck drivers are the scum of the earth.

They have nothing to do with it, other than being hired by the bank to do a task - make your payments!

Common Worker wrote:

Other than to support our economy, I see no reason why anyone would ever need to purchase a new vehicle.
Let all the rental companies and large corporations that purchase fleets buy the new cars, then we'll buy them when they are two years old.

That's your opinion - let others who want a new car, and can affoed it, buy a new car. It's a wonderful thing called choice.

Smart wrote:

Tow truck drivers are the scum of the earth.

I know a number of tow truck drivers. They're all great guys. They're doing a job just like the next guy. Because a person does not choose to pay their bills and the company wants what is theirs back doest not make the tool bad. If i drove a nail into your tire would I or the hammer be the scum? I think it would be safe to say I would be the scum. Sure hope you never end up in a ditch in the next snow storm.

To Calm yourself Tim and Kaye,

How do you KNOW he was being sarcastic? Because you took it as sarcasm? There are posters out there who think the Govt should bail out people who got into trouble with a loan. How do you know he isnt 1 of those people? I am sorry to say, when it comes to WASTING of MY tax dollars , I will NEVER calm down. If you expect to take my tax dollars willingly then you dang better be willing to listen to me give you an ears full about it.

That being said, you had 2 people on here.

1 who said they think the stock market crash and the subsequent losing of money from a retirement fund should be covered by the Govt with more taxes, when the fault is with the person who hired someone who they obviously shouldnt have trusted. Maybe if your retirement fund is so precious to you then you shouldnt GAMBLE it on the stock market.

Then another who states the housing market needs to be bailed out and all of these "poor people" who were taken in by these lenders.... what hogwash. If you are willing to sign on the line for an item (house, car, anything you are getting now and paying later for) then you BETTER know what you are signing. The lender didnt make them sign the mortgage papers. It was their greed that got them into that position. If you arent in a position to buy a house, THEN YOU ARENT IN A POSITION TO BUY IT.

On a side note, someone commented the reality is that most families wont help in a manner in which I did with my family. Well, maybe america and more people need to look at how they are raising their kids and what they are teaching them are the type of morals that are important. Just because you think you are doing the right think if giving more choices to the younger generations means you are doing things right. Just look at the reality that more families then not will turn their back on another family member in trouble. Looks to me like we are really making the right choices doesnt it :D

Madman wrote:

<quoted text>
There are bailouts that are totally unjustified, such as for vehicles mentioned here; and there are some somewhat justified, as subprime home loans that were the result of unscrupulous tactics by over-aggressive lenders. I agree totally that I don't want tax dollars spent bailing out folks whose commitment to Looking Good in a nice ride was stronger than their commitment to live within their means. This is why I drive older vehicles that don't require loans: 100% down, and $0.00/month for life!
I acknowledge you for the great generousity you have shown your family, putting up with rather crowded quarters to be your brother's (and mother's) keeper. While that is awesome, keep in mind that not every family has generous, giving members like you in it. I know, I know: they Should. In Reality, many do not. I still don't want any taxpayer-funded bailouts of car loans for folks who had Mommie Dearest for a mother or Norman Bates for a son!

I'm even not so sure that bailing out people on sub prime mortgages is justified either. Sure the lenders probably should not have borrowed to these people. However the buyer is ultimately responsible for themselves, their budget and knowing the terms of the loan. My understanding is that most of these sub prime mortgages are not a fixed rate. People should know that when they sign those mortgage papers that there is a good chance that their rates will go up thus driving their payments up and be at least somewhat prepared for that. This should not have come by surprise to anyone. But lack of personal responsibility and expecting the government to come to the rescue seems to be a recurring theme lately.

I did live within my means. Gas went up. My means didn't. Food prices went up. My means didn't. My property taxes went up. My means didn't. The cost of my health care went up. My means disn't. Don't tell me to live within my means. My car was paid off. But when it started to need all kinds of work, I got rid of it. It is the bus for me now. To live wittin my means is to not be able to get a car loan. I am not behind in any payments for anything. They say that I am streched to thin to be a good risk. I will not work to jobs just to be able to have a car.

Buy a car you can aford. I see people pull up at the gas station in their Escalade and put $5 in the tank. You know they can't afford the car if they can't afford to drive it. The idiots deserve to have their cars towed. They thought they were "cool" when they went $30+ thousand in debt for a stupid SUV. And the lenders know darn well that the person is probably going to make about 5 payments before they stop paying and get repo'd. Car salesmen are scum.

Kacy wrote:

It's so easy to judge. I wish the article had been more clear about how far behind these people are when they are getting repo'd. My first car loan was co-signed by a friend, and when I inadvertently missed a payment, my friend got a call (not me, they never bothered calling me at all - if they had, I would have realized that I had forgotten to pay it and paid it right there over the phone!), demanding payment or they would ruin his credit, repo the car, etc. This was 3 weeks late. On a 5 year loan, that was the only time I was ever late, and it simply was a mistake on my part. I wasn't not living within my means. I didn't not have the money. I just plain forgot. If they had just called me, I would have taken care of it. Instead they barge in shooting, scaring the crap out of everyone involved. It was really distasteful. Lenders are generally evil and almost never give people the benefit of the doubt. They should. Most people are inherently good and want to do right.

Not to be judgemental or anything but you forgot for 3 weeks?

Mary wrote:

I did live within my means. Gas went up. My means didn't. Food prices went up. My means didn't. My property taxes went up. My means didn't. The cost of my health care went up. My means disn't. Don't tell me to live within my means. My car was paid off. But when it started to need all kinds of work, I got rid of it. It is the bus for me now. To live wittin my means is to not be able to get a car loan. I am not behind in any payments for anything. They say that I am streched to thin to be a good risk. I will not work to jobs just to be able to have a car.

If you choose not to work another job to have a car or find another job that may pay better that is your choice. You are very smart to not be carrying any debt and you seem to be smart enough to cut back when necessary. That is my main point is that people expect to always be able to have these luxury items. And when things get tough they refuse to give them up and then put themselves into debt tyring to maintain when they should be cutting back. That is living within your means. sometimes you need to make sacrifices and cut back and maybe even work another job to make ends meet. Life isn't always easy, that is the way life is.

I've always paid cash for my cars, best thing for me.

@Mike: Trust me, when you declare bankruptcy, you don't get credit cards handed to you like candy. You pay for it in so many ways for years and years to come.

As someone who has been there, done that, I will attest that it's very difficult when you are an 18-year old college kid, never taught basic finance, had parents who were financially irresponsible themselves, and someone is saying 'here, sign up for this credit card with a $5K limit, you can count your student loans as income if you don't have a job, and by the way here's a free radio too', it's pretty tough to say no.

Should that 18-year old say no? Of course. But the credit card company shouldn't be allowing that, and the college campuses shouldn't either.

It's easy to point fingers at the little guy.

@love the usa, have you never forgotten anything? That's a completely absurd comment. In five years I was late ONCE. My point was that if they had simply called me I would have realized my mistake and fixed it immediately. Can you honestly say you've never forgotten anything? If so, bravo to you... but most people have.

St_Pauly_Girl wrote:

I've always paid cash for my cars, best thing for me.

same here. buy a 5 year old car for cash. been driving it for 5 years now. even with needed repairs, it's cheaper than a car payment and I don't have to shell out for full coverage insurance.